New York Republicans urge House to back Santos expulsion

A group of New York Republicans is urging GOP colleagues in the House to back a resolution expelling fellow Rep. George Santos (R-NY) from the lower chamber, denouncing the embroiled freshman as being unfit to hold office.

In a Dear Colleague letter sent to lawmakers on Wednesday, the group pressed its colleagues to vote for Santos’s expulsion, accusing the first-term lawmaker of robbing voters of an opportunity to choose their preferred candidate with full knowledge of his background. The letter comes as the House is expected to vote on an expulsion resolution this week to remove Santos from his House seat.

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“The sad truth is that George Santos cannot even represent himself correctly — how is he expected to represent his district?” the lawmakers wrote. “In our opinion, this is the most explicit example of election fraud this cycle. Expelling George Santos will allow the district’s voters to actually decide who they want to represent them with all of the facts in front of them.”

The expulsion vote could come as soon as Wednesday evening for the resolution introduced by Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY) last week alongside Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY), Nick LaLota (R-NY), and Marc Molinaro (R-NY). All four Republicans, as well as Rep. Brandon Williams (R-NY), penned the letter to lawmakers to back the resolution.

The letter comes one day after the House Ethics Committee issued an update regarding its investigation into Santos examining a number of allegations, including 23 counts charged via two federal indictments, as well as several other criminal and ethical indictments. The committee did not provide details of its findings, noting more information about “its next course of action” would be available on or before Nov. 17 — giving Republicans a chance to avoid the consequential vote and instead move to table the motion.

The expulsion resolution requires a two-thirds majority to pass the House, meaning at least 78 Republicans would need to vote in favor if all lawmakers are present and voting. That could be difficult to obtain, especially as Republicans seek ways to defend their slim majority in the lower chamber.

Santos represents New York’s 3rd Congressional District, a seat he managed to flip during the 2022 midterm elections and is considered one of the most competitive races next year. The seat is predicted to lean Democratic, meaning if Santos is expelled, Republicans could see their current four-seat majority shrink to three.

However, the group of New York freshmen pushed back on that argument, arguing the issue at hand is “not a political one but a moral one.”

“Plain and simple — this is a question of right and wrong,” they wrote. “The United States Congress must always uphold the highest standards and ensure accountability for those who have taken advantage of the American people — regardless of political party.”

Since being sworn into office at the beginning of this year, Santos has been at the center of controversy after the freshman lawmaker acknowledged he had embellished several elements of his life story while on the campaign trail. Santos also finds himself in possible legal trouble, having been twice indicted by the Justice Department on several counts of wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds, and lying to Congress.

Santos has pleaded not guilty to the charges and maintained he will not resign from office — arguing his expulsion would be a violation of the Constitution’s due process clause.

The New York Republicans pushed back on that claim, arguing that the clause does not extend to House expulsion proceedings. Furthermore, the group pointed to provisions that state the Constitution only requires that “the accused knows the accusation,” is able to confront the accuser, and has access to “a speedy trial.”

“Each of these conditions has been met,” they wrote.

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Some Republicans have expressed hesitation to expel Santos before his criminal trial is finished, claiming it could set a dangerous precedent for future proceedings. The group of New York freshmen agreed the matter would set a precedent — but argued it would be “a positive one.”

“Indeed, we should let the American people know if a candidate for Congress lies about everything about himself to get their votes, and then that false identity becomes known by his own admission or otherwise, that House members will expel the fraudster and give voters a timely opportunity to have proper representation,” they wrote. “The people of New York’s Third Congressional District and the American people deserve better.”